Country Music Legend Marty Stuart
Coming To Paducah

This appeared in The Southern
Illinoisan - January 1, 2013

Country music is really a
pretty simple process. A singer takes a song,
records it in a studio and hopes it gets so popular
that it becomes a hit, leading to big concert tours
and massive merchandise sales. A mountain of money
is accumulated and the person moves from the
Nashville slums to a mansion in the suburbs.

While most of the material being created is mindless
cookie-cutter fluff, occasionally a tune is created
that touches someone in a profound way, which is
exactly what Marty Stuart did with “Me & Hank
& Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” It penetrated to the very
soul of the late Irene Smith.

After hearing the song, Smith contacted Stuart
through a friend in Music City and a meeting was
arranged. Stuart had built a reputation as an
ambassador and memorabilia preservationist for
country music. Because he had worked with many
legends, he is viewed as a bridge from the
contemporary industry to its glorious past.

Smith had to witness firsthand that Stuart’s
incredible pedigree was genuine and not media
propaganda. A lengthy conversation during a meal in
Texas confirmed Stuart was the real deal.

Smith was very apprehensive because so many people
had taken advantage of her family through the years.
She was the sister of Hank Williams and had a
motherload of relics she wanted to ensure received
their place in country music history, from his
original birth and death certificates to extremely
personal correspondence with Fred Rose and the
original manuscript for “Cold Cold Heart.”

Stuart purchased the valuable link to country
music’s most important roots. Most of the unexpected
treasure was recently on display at the Country
Music Hall of Fame, a shrine in which Williams was
an inaugural member.

A native of Mississippi, the 54-year-old Stuart was
a country music prodigy. He joined the road band of
Lester Flatt in 1972, after Flatt broke away from
longtime partner Earl Scruggs. Flatt and Scruggs had
been band members of Bill Monroe, the Father of
Bluegrass.

Failing health forced Flatt into retirement in 1978.
Stuart played briefly for iconic musicians Doc
Watson and Vassar Clements, before joining the road
band of Johnny Cash, from 1979-83. He became close
friends with Cash, was instrumental in preserving
his legacy through photographs and recordings and
was married to his daughter, Cindy, for five years.

Honing his skills in two legendary bands for more
than a decade, Stuart laid the foundation for a
successful solo career, which started in 1985 and
produced hits like “Tempted,” “Hillbilly Rock,”
“Burn Me Down,” “Western Girls” and “Little Things.”

Stuart and his band, The Fabulous Superlatives, will
be in concert at on Friday, Jan. 25 at The
Carson Center in Paducah.

In one of the most popular tales of modern country
music, when he was a little boy, Stuart’s mother
took him to see a Connie Smith concert. During the
event, he told his mother, “One day I’m going to
marry her.” It took more than two decades, but
Stuart was true to his word. He married the “Once a
Day” singer in 1997. She will be the opening act at
the Paducah show.

Smith, the newest member of the Country Music Hall
of Fame, and Stuart are both members of the Grand
Ole Opry.

Stuart displays his passion for consciously carrying
the touch for traditional country music on his
latest recording, Ghost Train (The Studio B
Sessions). It is packed full of songs about a
gambler, a preacher, thieves and a wino, wrapped
around themes of death, sin and redemption.

Stuart is also the host of The Marty Stuart Show
on RFD-TV. The weekly Saturday night 30-minute
episodes have been the most popular program on the
cable television network for the past two years.

The national audience allows the singer to showcase
his incredible band, consisting of Kenny Vaughan,
Paul Martin and Harry Stinson.